Dehradun,09 October 2022: The well-known cultural festival of Uttarakhand ‘Virasat Arts’ and Heritage Festival 2022’ was inaugurated with the lamp’s lighting by the chief guest, the state’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Stadium, Kaulagarh Road in Dehradun. Spearheaded by RK Singh, General Secretary, Reach, the festival was also graced by Mr. RK Srivastava, Managing Director of ONGC and Dr. Alka Mital, former Managing Director of ONGC.
Flagging off the festival, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “I would like to express my gratitude to the entire team of Virasat for taking this initiative to promote our rich cultural heritage. Literature, music and art bring humility to people. Virasat truly provides a platform to represent our folk culture and enables local as well as international artists to showcase the immense talent that they possess. I am thankful to all the people who have been associated with Virasat for making it a huge success in India.”
The festival began with Uttarakhand’s traditional dance, ‘Cholia’ performed by key artist Geeta Sarri along with supporting artists Harish Kumar (Dhol Ransingh), Pratap Ram (Bag Piper) Mohan Ram, Girish Kumar, Darshan Kumar, Raju Kumar (Choliya Warrior) Kishan (Taal) Rohit (Tuki) Raju (Casio). This folk dance was earlier in the form of traditional warfare which used many instruments like Dhol, Damou, and Nagade, however, this time along with traditional instruments, Casio was also used to make its performance more enjoyable.
Cholia dance performance started with the arrival of the deities, followed by presentations like Nav Murti Madobaz, Chola Yudh, and Minar. In the next presentation of today’s program, popular Kathak exponent Shri Krishna Mohan Ji presented a spellbinding dance on the theme ‘Colors of Kathak’ conceptualized to carry forward culture and heritage. The performance started with the worship of Krishna (verses of Surdas), followed by presentations like the Hindu period, the Mughal period, and Tarane Sufi.
Additionally, he performed Kathak on a Ghazal, written and composed by him and also used fusion in rhythm while staying within a range, and especially paid a tribute to the composition by Late Pandit Birju Maharaj.The last gig of the day was Shehnai Vaadan wherein popular Shehnai players Ashwani and Sanjeev Shankar gave a scintillating Kathak performance with the support of artist Yogesh Shankar (shehnai player and Mithilesh Jhan the Tabla player.
Ashwani and Sanjeev Shankar said that the art runs in the family for over 300 years and they would like to take this tradition forward and reach as many people as possible. Ashwani started his performance with Raagbihaag and Thumri from Banaras, his performance also featured Jugalbandi of Tabla and Shehnai. During this 15-day festival, organizations from different states of India have set up stalls that represent diversity. The stalls offer different types of cuisines, handlooms, handicrafts from different parts of the country, Afghan dry fruits, traditional crockery, Indian wooden crafts and bamboo crafts from Nagaland along with other stalls.
The festival organized from 09 October to 23 October 2022, is a platform for people to experience the art, culture, and music of the eminent masters of classical music and dance up close. Eminent artists have been invited to perform at this festival. The festival will feature a crafts village, cuisine stalls, an art fair, folk music, Bollywood-style performances, heritage walks, and more.
This festival gives an opportunity to people across the country to understand India’s rich cultural heritage and its importance. Every aspect of the festival, such as art exhibitions, musicals, food, and heritage walks reflect the traditional values associated with Indian heritage. Virasat 2022 promises to mesmerize you and take you again on an unforgettable musical and cultural journey.
About REACH: REACH was established in 1995 in Dehradun, and since then REACH has been organizing Heritage Festival in Dehradun. The aim is simply to preserve the values of India’s art, culture, and heritage and to bring these cultural values to the masses.
Virasat Mahotsav has been instrumental in reviving many rural arts which were on the verge of extinction due to lack of audience. Virasat has played an important role in preserving our village’s tradition, music, dance, craft, painting, sculpture, theatre, storytelling, traditional cuisine, etc., and in bringing it into the modern era, and because of this, our classical and contemporary arts have been revived. Began to be recognized.
